I loved this book for most of the story, which is epic. At some point, however, I lost patience with the author's gaps in time--each section takes place seven years after the previous one--even when he fills in the important details later.

The book spans a lifetime, and tells, primarily, the story of a gay man born and bred in Ireland. The country's anti-sex, homophobic history and the terrorization of the populace by Catholic priests was something I wasn't very familiar with, and I found it thoroughly appalling. Things do change and improve by the end--the present day--though not entirely. Thus, the story itself is captivating.

And yet I ended up strongly disliking, if not hating, the book because of Boyne's use of literary gimmickry. The gaps in time keep the reader guessing; in the final section he complicates and intensifies the "mystery" aspect that he appears to be going for. If I needed mystery to enjoy a story, I'd read Agatha Christie and her literary cousins exclusively. The gimmickry distracted me and, in the end, made me furious.